


Across the Hall

by jooliewrites



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Single Parent Oliver, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooliewrites/pseuds/jooliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver is a single father who may, or may not, have a crush on his hot neighbor across the hall. (Hint: He does!)</p><p>Connor is a single lawyer who may, or may not, be a little bit in love with the hot single dad across the hall. (Hint: He is!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally Posted on Tumblr

As soon as the elevator doors open and Sophie see their across-the-hall neighbor at his front door, she is off down the hall at a happy sprint. “Mr. Connor! Mr. Connor!”

“Walk, please!” Oliver calls out after her. He follows at a more moderate pace, carrying their groceries.

Connor smiles slips the phone he was messing with in his pocket as Sophie approaches. “Hey bub.” He holds out a hand for her to high-five but pulls it back at the last minute so Sophie’s hand swipes through nothing but air. “Oh! Too slow.”

“No fair!” She cries with a little stomp of her foot and Connor holds out his hand again. This time she winds her arm up and hits his with all her might.

“Ow! You got me,” Connor says as he makes a show of shaking out his hand and Sophie giggles in delight. Connor and Oliver exchange pleasant smiles and nods when Oliver stops in front of their door, digging in his pockets for the keys.

“You wanna see what I got at the library?” Sophie asks up at Connor. Not waiting for his response, she sits down in the middle of the hallway and starts pulling books out of her backpack. “I got Fancy Nancy and Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny and this one’s about giraffes. Have you ever seen a giraffe?”

“I don’t know. Maybe at the zoo,” Connor tells her.

“They were sleepin’ when we went to the zoo. Right Daddy?” She turns to look up at Oliver, who is setting their groceries down inside the door of their apartment.

“Um, I don’t know.” He tries to remember and rests a hip on the doorframe. “I thought the lions were sleeping.”

“The lions and giraffes were both sleepin’” Sophie informs Connor primly. She looks back in her backpack for more things to show. “Oh! I also got a Maisy movie and—”

“Sorry about this,” Oliver whispers to Connor over Sophie’s head.

Connor is quick to shake his head. “It’s no problem.” He looks down again to where Sophie is lining up all her books to show off the covers and smiles again. “She’s a great kid.”

“I like to think so.” They share another smile before Oliver reaches down to lightly ruffle Sophie’s hair. “Okay, Sophs. That’s enough. Let’s say bye to Mr. Connor.”

“But why?” Her expression is distressed.

“Because we’ve got to eat dinner.”

Her expression shifts to confused. “But you said Kylie was coming over to play? We were gonna get pizza and you’re going to a restaurant.”

Throwing Connor an apologetic look, Oliver crouches down. “Remember how I said Kylie was sick and couldn’t come play today? And how we’re gonna plan a different day for you and Kylie to play?”

His normal sitter, Kylie’s, call to let him know she was sick as they had been driving home had thrown a giant wrench in Oliver’s dinner plans. He was planning to call his date and reschedule once they were inside. It was going to be the second time he had to reschedule their date and Oliver was dreading the phone call. He didn’t have high hopes that Michael would understand about Oliver canceling again with only a few hours notice.

Sophie looks puzzled as she processes Oliver’s news and then looks up at Connor. “Can you come play with me?”

“I—uh—” Connor falters, his gaze darting between Oliver and Oliver’s daughter.

“Soph, I don’t think that’s—” Oliver begins.

“But you did before and you said we could do it again,” She reminds Connor, which is true. Connor had watched Sophie once before when Oliver had been beyond desperate. That had also been an emergency and nothing so minor as a date.

“We can watch Big Hero Six again and get pizza and eat in the living room!” she practically begs.

“Sophie,” Oliver begins again, his tone patient but firm. “I’m sure Mr. Connor has plans—”

“I don’t,” Connor jumps in to say. Father and daughter look up at him, both clearly surprised at how forcefully Connor interrupted.

To be honest, he’s a little surprised himself. He really does have things to do tonight. Things that don’t involve babysitting a kindergartner so her father (her _annoyingly_ hot father) can, presumably, go out with someone not good enough for him. However, while looking down at the two of them, dark heads bent toward each other, Connor hadn’t been able to think of a single thing on his list that couldn’t wait a day.

“If—if you need someone to—I’m free tonight,” Connor stumbles over the words as Oliver stands back up.

“Really?”

“Why not?” Connor says with a smirk and is embarrassingly pleased when Oliver says, “Alright then.”

+

“So, the emergency numbers are all on the fridge but I’ll have my phone on the entire time,” Oliver tells Connor. “What else? Um—here’s the money for the pizza—”

“We each get to pick two toppings,” Sophie chimes in from her perch on a kitchen stool. “I pick pepperoni and extra cheese. What do you pick?” she asked Connor.

“I don’t know. I gotta think about it.” As he says it, Connor leans down and brings his face close to hers. He sneaks his hands up to tickle her lightly under the ribs. She giggles uncontrollably and slips out of his grip and down the stool, laughing as she runs away into the living room.

Oliver smiles, watching the exchange, and swears his heart sputters. His neighbor is hands-down one of the most attractive men Oliver has ever seen in real life and watching that stunning man entertain his daughter does dangerous things to his heart. Connor turns back on his stool, the silly grin he gave Sophie still in place, and Oliver just melts. He doesn’t even want to go to dinner anymore. He wants to stay here and listen to Sophie playing in the living room and have Connor just smile at him like that.

Oliver shakes his head and tugs at his tie. He needs to get out of here. Too much time with Connor in his apartment is giving Oliver ridiculous, unattainable fantasies.

“Um, numbers, pizza,” Oliver runs through the list in his head. “I’m going to be at Moretti’s. The—"

“Moretti’s,” Connor repeats with a knowing grin and cocked eyebrow. “Nice place.”

“He picked it,” Oliver explains. “It’s a little much for me.” He tugs at his tie again and then just gives up. “Have you ever been there before? Am I dressed okay?” Oliver looks down at his suit and brushes at the sleeves. “It said coat-and-tie but all my other suits are work suits or dirty or I _hate_ them. And this one—this tie doesn’t really match and the shoes are just—”

“Hey, hey.” Connor hops off the stool and steps around the counter into Oliver’s space. He reaches up to adjust the tie. “I’ve been there before, once. It’s nice. Fancy, little fussy but intimate.” Connor rolls out the word and Oliver feels it trail warmly down his spine. “The steak is good. The salmon is to die for.”

Finished with the tie, Connor adjusts the line of Oliver’s coat and flattens the lapels. “There.” Resting his hands lightly on Oliver’s chest, Connor surveys his handiwork. “You look stunning,” his tone is awed and his gaze lingers a beat on Oliver’s lips before looking up. “Get the chocolate cake.”

Oliver swallows. When did it get so warm in here? “Chocolate cake?”

Connor hums in agreement, gaze darting back down to Oliver’s lips. As if following a silent command, Oliver’s tongue flicks out to wet them.

“Never had it,” Connor whispers, his gaze still on Oliver’s lips and Oliver can feel them tingling. “But it’s supposed to be amazing. Rich flavor. Pair with a nice red.”

Connor trails off and they stand there, breathless, making one silhouette in the light. Oliver wants to knot this hand in Connor’s tangled mess of hair, lick into Connor’s mouth and taste. His palms itch with the need and Oliver starts to lift them.

CRASH!

They jump apart. Oliver calls out “Sophie!?!” and takes three quick strides toward the living room without registering his actions.

“Okay!” Sophie calls back. “The house fell.”

“Shit,” Oliver whispers. He rounds the corner into the living room and there – scattered all over the floor – are the pieces of Sophie’s doll house. The entire thing snaps and fits back together again but reassembling it takes forever. “Soph—”

“Hey, no worries.” Connor squeezes Oliver’s shoulder as he slips past him and clears a space next to Sophie amid the rubble. “We’ll get it back together again. Right Soph?” Connor waits for Sophie to nod at him and then turns back to Oliver. “You’ve got to get outta here. Don’t want to be late.”

“Right. Okay.” Oliver crouches down to speak with his daughter. “Now, you behave and listen to Mr. Connor.” She nods. “And you can call me if you want and I’ll come home, okay?” She says, “Okay” and rushes in when he opens his arms for a goodbye hug. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Daddy.” The kiss she presses to his cheek is wet and sticky and Oliver adores it.

“You guys have fun, alright?” Oliver stands and brushes an absent hand over Sophie’s hair.

“We will,” Connor says. When Oliver hesitates over them, Connor shoos him away with a flick of his hand. “Now will you get out of here?”

“Yeah, Daddy.” Sophie looks up with a mischievous grin. “Get outta here!”

“Alright, alright.” Oliver holds up his hands in mock defeat as he heads out of the room.

Oliver lingers in the doorway for a moment though, watching his daughter and his neighbor pick through dollhouse pieces and wishes there wasn’t some man waiting to meet him at a fussy but intimate restaurant across town. He wishes he could stay.

+

A few hours later, Connor lifts his head at the key in the door and looks at the clock. His brow furrows as Oliver walks in and sets a doggy bag on the counter. “That wasn’t a very long date.”

“It also wasn’t a very _interesting_ date,” Oliver explains.

Connor nods and turns back to his iPad. Finishing up some game his assistant downloaded for him - she was right; it is surprisingly addicting - before turning the screen off and setting the device aside.

“How was Sophie?” Oliver asks.

Connor looks over and tries not to stare as Oliver shrugs off his suit jacket and slips off his tie. Oliver unbuttons the top few buttons of his shirt, exposing the hollow of his throat, and Connor swallows hard. He wants to lick and suck and mouth that neck. He _wants_ —he wants a lot. He’s got it bad.

“Good.” Connor clears his throat; his voice broke over the word. “Really good. Got the dollhouse back together. Watched some Maisy. She passed out in the middle of Fancy Nancy.”

Oliver smiles. “Did she make you read it like five times?”

“Four.” Connor grins back. “And I was told that I was not doing the voices right.”

“Sorry about that.” Oliver’s fingertips trail over the counter as he walks over to Connor. “It’s the first time I let her check it out in a while. We had to take a little break from that book. I almost had the thing memorized.”

The silence between them is comfortable and Connor just wants it to linger. He wants to reach out and pull Oliver in so they’re standing as close as they were before with Oliver’s breath brushing over his cheek and Oliver’s aftershave in his nose.

Desperate to do something besides lust after his neighbor, Connor asks, “What’d you get?” At Oliver’s questioning hum, Connor gestures to the doggy bag sitting innocently across the counter. “At dinner.”

“Oh.” A blush graces Oliver’s cheeks as he turns back and leans an elbow down on the counter, stepping just into Connor’s space. “That’s actually—it’s not—I got the salmon.”

“And?”

“Delicious. I almost asked for seconds,” Oliver says.

Connor’s confused. “Then, what’s with the bag?”

“It’s—it’s the cake,” he whispers.

“I thought you said your date was boring,” Connor says.

Oliver’s gaze is heated when he meets Connor’s. “I wasn’t thinking about him when I ordered it. I—” Oliver licks his lips. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to try it.”

“Yeah.” The word is breathless as Connor puts a foot on the ground. The room around him is starting to spin as he stares into Oliver’s eyes and sees everything he’s ever wanted. “Hell yeah I want to try.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally Posted on Tumblr

As they near their apartment doors, Connor slips a hand in his jacket pocket to mess with his keys and wonders if he did something wrong.

Oliver hasn’t said a word since they left the restaurant. He didn’t even move to change the radio station when Connor switched it to a heavy metal station as a joke.

They’d talked about music at dinner and found they had similar likes and dislikes. Connor had done it so he would get to see Oliver smile and roll his eyes when he reached over to change it but Oliver just sat there, stoically navigating the evening traffic as he drove them home.

Okay, so Connor can concede that maybe it wasn’t the funniest joke in the world but, even still, the silent treatment seems a little extreme.

Should he apologize? _I’m sorry I thought I would try to be funny. I didn’t know you were so passionate about metal._

The half-assed apology is on the tip of his tongue as they pause in front of their apartment doors and Oliver lets out a choked laugh.

Keys in hand, poised to open his door, Connor turns. “What?” Oliver gives another laugh and Connor smiles, despite not picking up on the joke. “What is it?”

Oliver holds a hand over his mouth to keep another peal of nervous laughter at bay and rubs his jaw. “It’s just—which apartment are we going to go to?” Oliver asks, gesturing to their respective apartments across the hall from each other.

“I mean, I’ve been thinking about it since we left.” Oliver continues and turns to gesture to his apartment door. “There’s my apartment. My currently childless-apartment.” Oliver trails light fingertips over the wood of the door before turning to lean back against it. “Did I tell you Sophie was sleeping over with Kelsey?”

Connor nods, slips his keys back into his pocket, and leans back against his own door, mirroring Oliver’s position. “You may have mentioned it.”

“Of course I mentioned it.” Oliver drops his head back against the door. “Of course I talked about my daughter on a date.”

“Why wouldn’t you talk about her?” Connor asks.

“The books. All the single-parent dating books say not to talk about your kids ‘too much.’” Oliver makes air quotes around the last phrase and Connor just rolls his eyes.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And what is ‘too much?’” Connor asks.

“I don’t know,” Oliver says wearily. “I’m just worried. She’s never slept over with someone who wasn’t family before.”

Connor pushes himself off his door to go stand next to Oliver. “You want to call over there again?”

“No.” Oliver shakes his head. “She’s fine. I already called over there twice.” Crap. Connor only knew about one of those calls. That was another one of those things the books said. Don’t make a big deal about checking up on your childcare. Oliver lifts his head, tripping over himself to explain. “I mean—I know I excused myself to call before the entrees came out. But then later, before desert, when I said I was going to the bathroom. I didn’t—well I _did_ but I also called over there too. I just—”

Connor reaches down to take Oliver’s hand and squeezes. “I knew you were calling.”

“Am I really that terrible of a liar?” Oliver asks, turning his head.

Connor shakes his head. “You’re that good of a father.”

Oliver sighs and lets his head fall back again. “That still leaves us with a problem.”

Connor’s only response is a questioning hum.

“The apartments.” Oliver’s tone is absentminded as he starts to ramble. “We’ve established that there is my _empty_ apartment. I picked up so there’s no chance of stepping on a Lego or something. I also cleaned the bathroom and there are fresh sheets on the bed.”

Oliver pauses a bit and then – what the hell, in for a penny and all that – he continues. “The entire time I was doing it I kept telling myself that I was just doing normal weekend chores because it was Saturday and there was nothing special at all happening. The housecleaning was just a normal part of the routine.” He huffs out a breath. “But all of that was a lie. I cleaned and changed the sheets because I want us to have sex. And now we can. We can have sex practically anywhere in my apartment. I mean—there are places where I would prefer we _didn’t_ have sex but—really the whole apartment is fair game.”

Connor presses a grin into Oliver’s shoulder. “Oliver—”

“And then there’s your apartment,” Oliver ignores him and just keeps going with his stream of consciousness. “Your _adult_ apartment. I mean—your apartment is always ready for sex everywhere. You probably don’t have to worry about one of those stupid round, Weebles things lying around waiting for someone to step on and roll an ankle. That would certainly be a mood killer.”

“That it would,” Connor agrees.

“Do you have condoms in your adult apartment?” Oliver turns to ask.

Connor nods, trying not to crack a smile. It really isn’t funny. Oliver is just being so cute and nervous and Connor can’t help but find it more than a little endearing.

“I had to go and buy some,” Oliver explains, ignoring Connor. “I did have some and they weren’t expired yet but—I just had a feeling about them. You know? Like when you open the milk and can just tell it’s on the verge of going bad.”

“I’ve never had that feeling about condoms,” Connor tells him seriously.

“You probably never had them lying around long enough,” Oliver rationalizes. “And then that became a whole production for how to get condoms ‘cause it isn’t like I could just pick some up while at the grocery store. I mean, Sophie’s _right_ _there_. So then I had to go on my lunch break like some kind of pervert.”

“How does buying condoms make you a pervert?” Connor asks, priding himself on keeping a straight face.

“Because I was buying them in the middle of the day,” Oliver explains. Clearly Connor doesn’t understand anything. “What kind of person buys condoms and lube in the middle of the day?”

Connor tries to hold back another smile. This is amazing. “When are you supposed to buy condoms and lube?”

“At night. Under the cover of darkness. Everybody knows that,” Oliver tells him. “Plus, I couldn’t go in there and _just_ buy condoms and lube.”

“What else did you buy?”

“Gum. Cinnamon gum. The clerk probably thought I have some kind of fetish or something.” Oliver rubs a hand over his eyes again. “I don’t even like cinnamon gum.”

Connor squeezes Oliver’s hand again. Oliver’s whole tone turned almost defeated at the end and Connor doesn’t like it. Oliver should never sound like that.

Connor brings up their joined hands to kiss the back of Oliver’s and then holds them close to his chest. “Oliver. We don’t have to do anything.”

“No! I want to! I mean—I want to if you want to—” Oliver turns to rest his hip on his door and Connor turns as well.

“I want to.”

“Okay. Good. So we both want to.” Oliver looks down at their joined hands resting on Connor’s chest. This might be easier to say to Connor’s hand than Connor’s eyes. “It’s just—it’s been a very long time since I’ve done this. And—and I like you.”

Connor smiles and squeezes Oliver’s hand again at the hesitant confession. “I like you, too.”

“Okay. Good. That’s—that’s good. Glad we established that.” Oliver reaches to cup Connor’s cheek and they lean in for a gentle kiss that lingers. Oliver rests his forehead against Connor’s. “I just don’t want to screw this up.”

“We won’t.” Connor squeezes Oliver’s hand and emphasizes again. “Oliver. We _don’t_ have to do anything.”

Oliver nods. He knows but still. “Well, eventually we’re going to have to go inside. We can’t spend the rest of the night in the hallway.”

“Then we’ll be inside. It doesn’t mean that anything is or isn’t going to happen. We don’t even have to go inside together. It’s the joy of living across the hall. I can go in my apartment and you in yours.” Connor pulls his head back a little and his grin turns cocky. “We could do that and I could call you again. _That_ was fun.”

Oliver licks his lips. _That_ was a late night phone call from earlier in the week that had started off innocent and turned into the best phone sex Oliver had ever had.

Finally being able to give voice to everything he wanted to do with his beautiful man. Biting his lip so hard it almost broke skin to keep his cry of release quiet. Connor’s own broken cry in his ear as he came left Oliver giddy with power that his – his voice, his words, his own cry of release – had affected Connor so greatly. _That_ had been fun.

However, it also left him aching and lonely. Connor had been so close and yet still out of reach. His daughter sleeping safely down the hall prevented Oliver from walking the handful of steps to Connor’s door and being able to actually touch and taste what he wanted or from begging Connor to come to him and just take.

Oliver doesn’t know if he wants to spend another night reaching across the bed for someone who is actually across the hall.

Watching the debate play over Oliver’s face, Connor lifts a hand to his cheek for another soft kiss before pulling away and going back to lean against his own door. At Oliver’s questioning look, Connor simply says, “It’s your call, Oliver. Mine, yours, whatever you want. It’s your call.”

Oliver looks back at his own door and considers.

Oliver and Sophie live in this apartment. In this apartment, he is Sophie’s dad and he doesn’t want to be Sophie’s dad tonight. For tonight, reassured in the knowledge that his daughter is safe and cared for at her friend’s house, Oliver just wants to be Oliver.

He wants to be a man with desires and wants and needs. Oliver wants to be a man who loves and is loved in return.

With a soft rap of his knuckles against the wood, Oliver pushes away from his door and takes the few steps across the hall. He grips Connor’s hips, pushing them back against the door with his own. Connor’s hands reach up to cup Oliver’s cheeks as Oliver licks into his mouth. Connor lets his head fall back, knotting one hand in Oliver’s hair and trailing the other down to grip Oliver’s tie. Oliver’s grip on his hips tightens and Oliver feels the skin heat under layers of cotton. He takes the kiss deeper, wetter, trailing kisses along Connor’s cheeks and jaw, mouthing down Connor’s throat.

“Yours,” Oliver says against Connor’s lips and presses closer at Connor’s answering groan. “Connor. Yours.”

With a whine, Connor breaks the kiss to turn. He pulls out his keys, hands shaking as Oliver slots their hips together and noses behind Connor’s ear and sucks a line down the back of Connor’s neck.

“Yours.” Oliver breathes against the nape of Connor’s neck, dampening the skin. Oliver pulls back to rub his thumb in a soft circle over the spot while Connor unlocks the door.

When the bolt slides home, Connor turns to pull Oliver in by his tie.

“Mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](http://ramblesandreblogs.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> PS: There may be more of this. Watch this space...

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://ramblesandreblogs.tumblr.com)


End file.
